Harry Tepes
by Shadewolf7
Summary: What if Harry was adopted by the infamous Count Vlad Tepes the Third? Slytherins, Vampires, and more!
1. Prelude

_Prologue_

"Harry Potter," the stern-faced woman standing before the teacher's table read from the list before her, ignoring the sudden explosion of murmurs around the Hall.

A boy stepped forward gracefully, sharp green eyes surveying the room coolly before moving to land upon Professor Minerva McGonagall. "Forgive the correction," he said, voice melodic and entrancing, "but my name was changed to Tepes when Count Vlad Tepes the Third adopted me."

Most did not see the significance of the name, but Dumbledore paled slightly and a few of the students inhaled sharply.

McGonagall's eyes widened marginally before she got herself under control, "Forgive me, Mr. Tepes. I will see to it that it is corrected in the records."

The boy inclined his head slightly before moving to sit on the stool, allowing the ragged old hat to be placed on his head.

Silence stretched long, finally shattered by the resolute cry of "Slytherin!"

_xxxx_

_I really shouldn't have actually started writing a new story. But the idea is in my head, now…_

_So I may as well post it. Anyway, thank all you who bother reading and following chapters will be actual chapters, not little teaser-snippets. Oh--looking for a beta for this story. Any takers?_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

It had started, as with many things, with death. More specifically, with the death of the only caring family one small child had.

How it would end… well. The fates had yet to speak. But if Vlad had anything to say about it, it would not end for many years. He had found the child, abandoned on a doorstep, and the timing could not have been more ideal.

He had been seeking an heir for many years, and to find a child who fairly _shone_ with Magic…

Perfect.

Too young to turn fully, of course. But the child would be raised as a Vampire… raised and taught everything about the human and magical worlds that Vlad could find the tutors to teach.

He took the child.

_xxxx_

_Ten years later:_

"Father, the letter has come."

Vlad stood languidly, vampiric grace evedent in his every motion, and stepped over to his son's side. "I see," he murmured, eyes flickering over the page faster than any human—even the half-vampire Harry—could manage to follow. "We shall go to London, then. We have much to purchase. Ensure that you are presentable, my son."

Harry dipped his head in a nod that bordered on a respectful bow, "Yes, Father."

_xxxx_

The two were given wide berth as they entered the Alley, their movements calling up subconcious knowledge of predators.

Neither paid any mind to the open space around them as they headed first to the bank in order to settle a few matters—such as re-opening the account Harry's birth-parents had left to him, which Vlad had had locked soon after officialy (but quietly) adopting the boy.

The Goblins knew the Tepes when they saw them. Dracula was the closest thing to a King the Vampires had, and Harry was widely hailed in the Vampire Nation as 'Prince Tepes'. And it would not do to make enemies of the Vampire Nation, which few humans even knew existed.

Even as the humans were subconciously shifting to give the oldest vampire and his protégé more space, a goblin was making his way over from the back. "My Lords, please follow me."

Without aknowladging the shocked murmurs, the two turned as one and moved in step behind the goblin, following him into a private room in the back of Gringotts.

"My Lord Count Tepes," the goblin behind the desk greeted formally as their guide quietly backed out of the room and closed the door, "Prince Tepes. I am Goldfarb, the current manager of this branch of Gringotts. What can I do for you today?"

_xxxx_

"Father," Harry asked as they made their way out of Madame Malkin's, "May I get a snake?"

Vlad smirked slightly—he'd raised his son well. "Only if it is venomous."

There was an answering smirk, "Of course, Father."

"Wand first," Vlad cautioned, steering the pleased boy towards Ollivander's.

"Yes, Father," there was slight resignation in his tone—Harry did not need a wand to do magic, but one was required for school. But the Trace-charm on it would register any Wizard magic in the house, and as Harry was the only one with innate magical ability…

"I will see about having the charms removed from it as soon as is possible, my son, but it must be done legally." It would be an interesting combined exercise of his own little-used political power and his son's oft-avoided fame.

"Thank you, Father," jade eyes flicked up to meet onyx with a small smile of true gratitude.

They both fell silent as they entered the wand shop and Harry and Vlad both turned towards the scent of Wizard well before said Wizard managed to sneak up on them.

Ollivander seemed briefly surprised before he tilted his head curiously, "A Vampire and a half-Vampire. I was not aware that the former Mr. Potter had already begun the Change."

That would have been unnerving to said half-Vampire, if it weren't for the fact that his Father had warned him about Ollivander's ability in the Sight… and long-standing aquaintance with the senior Tepes.

As it was, though, he simply watched the man, who apparently sensed he shouldn't continue to delve into the topic.

"Wand arm?" Ollivander asked.

"I am ambidextrous, but favor my right for writing."

A tape measure flew over and began measuring his arm until he hissed at it. It promptly rolled up and dropped to the floor.

The tape measure was merely an unecessary destraction, meant to keep customers occupied, and the younger Tepes knew it.

When the old man came back, it was with several boxes. "Here," Ollivander opened the first box and offered Harry the wand from inside, "Try this one. Ash and dragon heartstring."

It took a bare moment of half-raising it before it was snatched away, "No, no, try this one. Unicorn hair and willow."

Harry halfheartedly raised the wand, tuning out the wandmaker's voice, and frowned slightly as a shelf in line with the wand collapsed.

An impatient wave of the wandmaker's wand restored it to its previous condition, "No, well, how about this one?"

It became almost rote, take an offered wand, either get no reaction or destroy something, hand it back.

Time passed, and the discarded wands' boxes piled high.

One wand, holly and pheonix feather, got the stirrings of a reaction—a few sparks showered from the tip—but still wasn't quite _right_.

"Hm…" Ollivander mused. "We may have to customize a wand for you."

And so the two Tepes were escorted to the back of the store, where Ollivander removed the core from the holly wand.

"This core seems to suit you well," he explained as he sought out different woods to replace the outer part of the wand with, "But the wood is wrong and it may need a drop of your blood to finish attuning it. Here," Ollivander placed several different types of wood on the table, "See which of these resonates most strongly with your magic."

All the woods were unusual for wandmaking—purple heart and ceder and ebony among them—but the younger Tepes supposed he was an unusual creature. So he reached out a hand and lifted each long, thin block of wood in turn, pausing for a few moments with the purple heart before setting it aside and discarding the ceder after a brief touch.

The ebony, though… was something else entirely.

"This one," he stated.

"Ebony…" the wandmaker shook himself, "Very well Mr. Tepes. If you would smear a drop of blood along the shaft of the pheonix feather…"

Harry did as he was instructed, pricking his finger on a fang and wiping it along the feather's shaft watching with interest as the feather absorbed the blood almost instantly, the color darkening slightly.

"Very good," Ollivander smiled, pleased, and set about integrating core and wood, "It should be ready in an hour," he stated.

The elder Tepes nodded once, "We will return then."

The two left the store quietly, heading out for the pet store—the only thing left, really.

_xxxx_

The pet store was, as most pet stores are, filled with noise and strange smells. They did have snakes, mostly magical varieties, only a few venomous.

One tank in particular caught Harry's eye. Mainly due to the large sign proclaiming 'Don't Touch' and, in smaller letters, 'Will Not Be Held Responsible In Case Of Death'.

The snake inside was small and unassuming, a dark flat gray bordering on black, no more than a foot and a half long. All in all, it was perfect. At least, appearance wise. Now, to give a quick personality-check.

Harry hissed a soft quiery as to the snake's name, and the small head jerked up. Lidless black eyes fixed on Harry's, then the snake answered with no further show of surprise.

_I am nameless, Speaker._

Harry gave a slight nod—so far, so good. The snake had a poise and adaptability shown in his quick acceptance, and seemed intelligent from the way he spoke.

Another question, still kept soft. _Would you like to come with me, Nameless One?_

A sense of supressed excitement filtered through the little snake's reply. _To leave this place? I would go with one of the Snake Eaters, themselves._

_Very well,_ Harry replied, reacing out and deftly unlatching the (supposedly locked) cage. _ Please refrain from biting anything without permission._

_As you wish, Speaker. So long as it is not attacking, I will not bite._

Harry nodded his acceptance of the condition and lifted the small snake from the tank, allowing him to wrap himself around the offered arm.

"Father," Harry stated, turning with his new companion prominently displayed, "I have decided."

Vlad's eyes sparked with mirth upon seeing the serpent he had chosen, "Excellent choice, my son," he congradulated, barely glancing at the sign on the now-vacant tank. "Excellent choice, indeed."

_xxxx_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Wand and 'pet' acquired, Harry was finally equipped for school.

_You need a name, Nameless One,_ Harry observed as Vlad spoke to Ollivander. _Is there one you desire?_

_No, Speaker,_ the dark snake hissed, _I have given no thought to such a matter._

Harry nodded slightly, considering his small, relatively unassuming companion. _Then I shall call you '_Dae'_,_ he informed the creature. _It means 'Shadow' in the Higher-Fae tongue._

Small black eyes glittered as the snake raised his head, tongue flickering out briefly, as though tasting the name. _It is a good name,_ the newly christened Dae approved.

Harry smiled.

_xxxx_

The next several days passed quickly as Harry read his school books and went over anything he failed to understand with his various tutors. His main difficulties were with history—Ebisu-sensei, the Japanese vampire who taught him history, had only brushed over each of the various goblin rebellions, as they had been quashed with relative ease by the wizards' more offensive magics.

The text Harry had been given for history detailed the rebellions in excruciating detail, not just the main dates and more notable names, but close to every wizard and goblin involved.

After glancing through the text, Ebisu-sensei had rather disgustedly taken the matter to Vlad, who had agreed that Harry would not be expected to do more than simply pass that class, as even that would take a remarkable exercise in rote memorization.

Relieved, Harry turned his attention to Potions, which he had long ago found he enjoyed immensely.

Master Acharn—one of the Higher Fae—was undeniably pleased with Harry's interest, and was the half-vampire's tutor in both the magical art and the Higher Fae language.

Harry was disappointed to note he could make the first-year potions in his sleep-like trance state, and his amused Sire ordered the books for the next six years, as well, forbidding him to actually read those books until after he had gone through everything for _all_ his classes.

The homely (and extremely strict) Lady Janice Darrow, the witch who taught him Charms, ran through the entire first-year book with him, finding he was, if not precisely an expert, at least _competent_ in the area. She then told him he was to read a Charms Theory book she had acquired and demanded he be _perfect_ (by her standards) with each of the spells by the time the school year ended.

That left Master Gohalhn, a Transfiguration Master who was just as strict as Lady Darrow, had drilled the theory into his head until he could (and, if Vlad was to be trusted, _had_) recite while in his sleep-trance. The basics were simple, and Harry was in possession of more than enough magical power to transfigure even the most stubborn of materials. Still, he had not been permitted to actually attempt to transfigure without a wand of his own.

By the time school actually started, Harry was certain he'd be so far ahead of his classes (excepting, perhaps, History) that he would likely be able to skip at least one year in all of them, if Hogwarts followed the non-magical school's practices.

Vladimir was pleasantly amused by his son's abilities, but did point out that Harry would be expected to complete the Muggle courses as well.

Harry sighed and added those texts to his pile of things to go over—and was rather pleasantly surprised when his father added that Harry could complete those courses over the summer with his tutors, if he preferred.

_xxxx_

When the day finally came, the train ride was uneventful.

Children were always less likely to resist their instincts than most teens and adults, and his fellow eleven-year-olds avoided him—and the older students held no interest in a first-year.

Do to this instinctive avoidance, Harry also managed to get a boat to himself and it wasn't until the actual Sorting that there was anything resembling a problem.

The small circle of open space around him was quickly noticed by the teacher who came to lead them to the great hall, but she did not comment on it. Instead, she introduced herself as 'Professor McGonagall' and ordered them to follow her.

When she finally called his name, it was the wrong one.

"Forgive the correction," he spoke for the first time since leaving his father's side that afternoon, "but my name was changed to Tepes when Count Vlad Tepes the Third adopted me."

From the widening of her eyes and the subtle wash of fluttered puzzlement and fearful shock that filtered through the room, there were those who recognized the name.

Still, the professor showed a remarkable amount of control when she simply nodded, "Forgive me, Mr. Tepes. I will see to it that it is corrected in the records."

Harry inclined his head and sat on the stool, allowing the indignity of having a mind-reading hat placed on his head.

There was a slight pause before the hat whispered in his ear.

"I can't see your mind, Mr. Tepes."

_Perhaps we could come to an agreement, then._

"You are capable of directing thoughts so I can read them. How… interesting."

_I would prefer to be placed in Slytherin, Reader._

There was a pause, then a sense of acquiescence.

"Slytherin!"

Harry rose smoothly, placing the hat in McGonagall's hands as he stepped past her, ignoring the silent shock that rang around him. Quite calmly, he made his way to the Slytherin table—the table at which the greatest number of people had recognized his name—and sat, placing his left hand next to his plate for a moment to allow Dae to settle on the table.

The small serpent uncoiled from around his wrist and slid onto the table, re-coiling himself next to Harry's plate with a hissed thanks.

Harry offered a slight nod, then turned his attention to the people still staring at him. "I believe the Sorting remains unfinished."

That was enough to get attention—some attention, anyway—off of him and back towards the Sorting where it belonged.

Harry hid a smirk as he examined those who still had calculating, weighing, or downright shocked gazes resting on him, noticing that every one of them glanced at—and mostly dismissed, past innate prejudice—the tiny serpent on the table.

Dae would be a valuable ally in this place.

_xxxx_

* In case anyone cares, 'Dae' is pronounced 'Die-ay', and is two syllables.

_This story is being continued, if slowly. I have come down with mono and have been spending a great deal of time sleeping when not doing what I can around the house. That, sadly, leaves little energy for writing, though I do when I can._


End file.
